Do you sometimes feel paranoid when in a retail environment, shopping?
@lookatdesktop (27156)
Dallas, Texas
August 22, 2018 12:51pm CST
The nature of the retail end of business is to to be observant of others, to make sure they are finding what they are looking for and to help them get the things they need and want so they will be repeat customers and build your business.
But, being a customer, rather than a business owner, I find it hard to not be a bit paranoid as I walk along the massive aisles of millions of items because, they are watching. They have cameras on everyone. The stores do this to protect against the possibility of theft, and also as a theft deterrence.
I once was employed by a very large retail chain. The very first day was orientation class. The manager or assistant would take new employees into a room with a TV screen and asked to be seated. The video would play and it would be about THEFT by customers and the many ways customers themselves were common suspects and the ways they would go about to steal. Clever indeed, the many ways a person can take things that are not nailed down and walk away without actually buying the things they carry out the exit doors. A crying shame actually.
But being a pretty honest person myself, I find it sad that even I will be observed and observed in such a way as to focus on how much time I spend in a store, and what I end up walking out of that store with after my purchase.
A man at a local home improvement store told me that he believed that all people steal. "If you were working in an office, and you saw a pen sitting on a desk, you might or might not be inclined to pick it up and take it." - He told me that in the store he worked in as a stock person, that there were so many items being stolen that it was nearly impossible to prevent it from happening because customers, not all people, but enough of them do on a regular basis, take things and not pay for them just because they THINK nobody is watching.
It's not paranoia to feel this way then. It is because there are so many dishonest people in the world, who steal. If you are in a store, think twice before making the attempt to take out something from a box or a package and put it in your pocket and not pay for it. Because, modern digital camera surveillance systems are being placed in all of the large retail stores now.
Even Kroger has boosted it's anti-theft campaign to prevent what the modern retail has termed, SHRINKAGE, because YOU will eventually get caught and punished, maybe not today, but one day, eventually.
So why not start today and just tell yourself, I WILL NOT STEAL, TODAY.
Read this article from Shopkeep.com on how to reduce shoplifting.
6 people like this
7 responses
@TheHorse (238330)
• Walnut Creek, California
22 Aug 18
I don't steal stuff from stories, though I sometimes would bring chalk from the college I teach at to the preschool I teach at. Preschools are almost always underfunded when it comes to supplies.
As for feeling watched, I guess I've gotten used to it. I tend to be quite focused in my shopping, and only pick my nose while driving alone, so I don't think about cameras that might be watching me.
2 people like this
@lookatdesktop (27156)
• Dallas, Texas
22 Aug 18
This article was not aimed at you silly. It is aimed at wanna be shoplifters. I always figured I needed to write such an article so anyone inclined to become a thief, would take time to think twice before acting on such a bad impulse. As to picking your nose in public, I have seen much worse actions in my retail experiences and some of those things I would not want to share on social media. 

1 person likes this
@TheHorse (238330)
• Walnut Creek, California
22 Aug 18
@lookatdesktop Heh. Oh, I didn't think it was aimed at people like me. But I focused on the "being watched" part. It could bother me, but it (generally) doesn't. I'm pretty "straight" (normal) in public.
1 person likes this
@anya12adwi (10292)
• India
23 Aug 18
For that thing to be stopped, I feel there should be some days where some customers would be allowed to take anything they want within a range for free, but that can happen only in dreams!! I feel paranoid of salesperson who would be hovering around me where ever I go.. not of camera, though
1 person likes this
@lookatdesktop (27156)
• Dallas, Texas
23 Aug 18
A hovering sales person is the same kind of thing as far as the stress issue is concerned. I would not even shop in any store if a sales person hoverd around me unless I asked for assistance. 

1 person likes this
@anya12adwi (10292)
• India
23 Aug 18
@lookatdesktop I marked in some malls, the sales person would hovering over me even if I did not touch any of the clothes.. They can be annoying... You can stay at a distance and keep a watch over me.. What is up with following me every section I go..
@wolfgirl569 (135847)
• Marion, Ohio
22 Aug 18
The cameras are sadly needed. I just dont even think about them
1 person likes this
@lookatdesktop (27156)
• Dallas, Texas
22 Aug 18
The purpose of this post is that others who in fact do steal, will read it and think twice about doing it again. It's good that you are neither paranoid or dishonest.
1 person likes this
@Starmaiden (9308)
• Canada
22 Aug 18
I have no intention of thieving from the stores I shop at so I have no reason to feel paranoid. Let the ones behind the camera catch the thieves while I pay for my purchases. 

1 person likes this
@lookatdesktop (27156)
• Dallas, Texas
22 Aug 18
My paranoia comes from having been followed around by an undercover store detective or security guard, and when they saw me go out with a bag full of items I PAID FOR, they must have felt pretty darn stupid.
1 person likes this
@LeaPea2417 (40037)
• Toccoa, Georgia
24 Aug 18
I have felt paranoid sometimes when I shop, I would never steal from a store.









